Join us for a symposium celebrating two publications that highlight Asian Arts Initiative’s history of programming and resonance with the issues facing our communities. This fall’s Asian American Literary Review serves as a catalog for our 25th Anniversary Celebration Weekend, providing a look at the commissioned artworks, (ex)CHANGE project, as well as a curriculum by Dan S. Wang and pop up art by Colette Fu. Additionally, Asian Arts Initiative’s Neighborhood Programs Report to the Field documents our community programs from 2013-2018, and conveys lessons from the field at large through essays from Roberto Bedoya and Maria Rosario Jackson.

The symposium will include plenaries featuring artists, curators, and cultural workers reflecting on the themes of the publications, discussion sessions further exploring topics raised in plenary sessions, and a publication release reception. (ex)CHANGE: History Place Presence has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

College of Creative StudiesToyota Lecture Series: The Pop-up Photography of Colette Fu: Photographer and pop-up paper engineer Colette Fu discusses the various ways she innovatively uses pop-up in her own work and with others.April 6 2016 6-7:30pm

Panelists:Steve Bronstein is a blacksmith and the owner of Blackthorne Forge in Marshfield, Vermont. Colette Fu is a photographer and creator of pop-up paper books and cards. Darla Jackson is a sculptor and the owner of Philadelphia Sculpture Gym. Harshita Lohia creates wearable art as the Philadelphia-based textile designer and owner of Harshita Designs.

This is an introductory course for all levels on constructing pop-ups and adding lights to them with paper based electronics. With simple cuts and folds we will learn to create intricate designs that play with light and shadow. We will emphasize these patterns by adding miniature LEDs with battery powered paper based circuitry and switches. Note: The LEDS we use are small so please bring your reading glasses if you wear them. Register Here.

Asian Arts Initiative is excited to be planning the first ever Pearl Street Block Party, a neighborhood arts festival to celebrate the rich cultural diversity and artistic community of Chinatown North and Callowhill! The 1200 block of Pearl Street will come alive with a range of activities including a community furniture build of tables and chairs; artwork and featured performances by our Social Practice Lab artists in residence and other creative individuals; and a shared community feast to culminate the day!

The furniture build will be led by Oakland-based landscape architect and artist Walter Hood, who is helping us to imagine how the underutilized alleyway behind our building can be transformed into a space filled with art and life. At the community feast, we'll share the design concepts that he has created for Pearl Street based on community input collected this past spring and summer.

In this lecture she will share with us some of her innovative work and discuss some of the technology she uses. Following the lecture the members Hive76, Philadelphia's premier Hacker Space, will have demonstrations of some of the technology used in these stunning pop-ups books.